Norrington was wiping the sweat from his brow, when he saw the elvish woman at his elbow with a cup of water. He took it from her, frowning faintly, "I - thank you, but there's no need to fetch water for me. I will be happy to get it myself."

He paused, before handing it back to her. "Here, drink it yourself."

Now that Pel had made him aware of all the thoughtless insults that came to her people every day - it made him uneasy to give any orders to any elf, unless it was under a military precept. How many times had he thoughtless taken a cup of water without thanking a servant for it?

... well, probably close to never, but how was he to know? He had to change his behavior so others could learn, and duplicate it in kind.